As you may know, I’ve recently returned from a trip to Colorado where I took part in my first ever multi-day, multi-game roller derby tournament. Before going I was nervous – would I have the fitness, stamina and mental energy to survive it? As I’ve never experienced something like it before, how could I know? This feeling was compounded by …

If you’ve just started jamming, you will know that soul-crushing feeling of being trapped behind a terrifying wall of strong-as-bull Vets. No matter how hard you push or juke, you can’t get through. Your legs are burning, your lungs are on fire and you want to cry! I got fed up of feeling like this so started trying to …

1. Outdoor Skating If you are used to skating on nothing but flat, flat sports court, the smoothest looking pavement will feel like skating over a violently undulating beast thats trying to kill you. There are all sorts of potential hazards – stones, drains, sudden surface changes, random bulges – which are all great for building your stability, core and …

I like to think that I’m pretty fit, I workout a fair bit and always get plenty sweaty when I do. But then Scrim Night rolls around….. Our team has recently started using a torture tactic warm up where we take turns being the “jammer” fighting through a pack made up of the ENTIRE TEAM. Lets just say it’s tough. …

Five minutes. Doesn’t sound like a long time. That is until you have to skate 27 laps of a roller derby track within that time. Then 5 minutes feels like unending, lung burning torture. I have come to almost enjoy the 27 in 5 since upgrading my skates, getting fitter and FINALLY reaching the target! I was happy at 27 but …

Crossovers. They look pretty cool, help you power out of corners and you can’t do your 27 in 5 without them. But, they can also be damn tricky to master. Simply put, a crossover is the transference of body weight from one foot to the other whilst crossing your feet whilst skating in a curve. Its more efficient to skate …

This post has been inspired by the training session we had today, which involved doing Hula Hoop on skates! It was really fun and I was surprisingly not terrible at it. It got me to thinking about fun off-skates activities that would be beneficial for Derby….. 1. Hula Hooping – On or off skates, this retro fitness craze is …

As promised, in case you were still a bit uninspired to create your own workouts from my last post about stamina and endurance, I’ve cobbled together a few examples. These are workouts are similar to ones I do myself or that I have done in the past. I’ve tried to use ones that require little to no equipment or gym …

I reckon, just like me, prior to attending your first Roller Derby training session you believed you were “pretty fit”. Then at the end of your first 27 in 5 you found yourself starfished on the floor, on the verge of puking and believing you were about to drop dead. “Wow, I’m really not as fit as I thought!” you breathily mutter …

Roller Derby is different to most sports in the respect that more “alternative” people are attracted to it – “hey, we love fishnets ok?!” These “alternative” people often haven’t grown playing sports or often haven’t partaken in much mainstream exercise. Most likely down to the fact they didn’t “fit in” or were intimidated by the “sporty people” getting sweaty in …